Röyksopp keep the party going...but for how much longer?
Synthesizing what made their previous two discs great, Röyksopp make good on the 4-year hiatus.
Röyksopp
Junior
Released on Mar 24, 2009
2009 is going to be a busy year for Norwegian duo Röyksopp with two releases expected from them this year. First we have Junior, what Röyksopp has detailed as their “Spring Album” and with Senior, the “autumn album,” to follow by the end of the year. With Junior, many fans (this one included) were a bit nervous about what the result could be. Melody A.M., their first release back in 2001 was a bouncy mix of beats and glittery synths that was followed by The Understanding, a notably more mature, slicker, and darker album. Between the two releases, fans were divided about what sound the duo would embrace. Well, it’s fair to say that the polished and slick sound of The Understanding isn’t going anywhere, but Röyksopp makes a convincing case of taking elements that made each of those albums so successful and fusing them on Junior.
The real strength of The Understanding that just about anyone could attest to was the selection of guest vocalists. From Karin Dreijer Andersson to Chelonis R. Jones, the duo takes care to match the vocalist to the style of the song. This album, in particular, marks their strongest effort in this respect to date. Dreijer, Robyn, Lykke Li, and Anneli Drecker provide what is probably the strongest line-up in guest vocal history and each song perfectly suits them. “The Girl and the Robot” features Robyn on vocals with a syrupy, techno synth line that dances around her voice. It’s her vocals though, that really make this track shine as she goes from sounding a bit insecure during the verse to purely vulnerable and naked on the chorus; making the track’s title sound grounded in an alternate reality - the robot representing an emotionally absent partner. “Miss It So Much” takes Lykke Li’s innocent and beautiful voice and turns the track into a dreamy techno-pop romance about - you guessed it - missing something or someone. It really is a testament to the singers that they can take rather mundane feelings or abstract ideas and really add personality and character to the songs.
This isn’t to say that Röyksopp solely rely on the singers to help them turn what could be mundane techno tracks into dance-floor knockouts. If it’s anything that Röyksopp is known for, it’s because they only know how to make dance-floor knockouts. The beats are always creative and synth lines are always vibrant but, there is an element of that Melody A.M. sound that is missing from these tracks. On that album, the duo could rely solely on beats to carry the song. With this album, the production and composition of the songs mark a shift towards a holistic approach to making music. The sum of parts here is truly greater than the individual elements themselves. Songs like “Silver Cruiser” and “Röyksopp Forever” - which feature no guest vocals surprisingly - begin as a simple chord progression but coalesce into modern day electronic epics with layers of percussion, haunting orchestration, and a plethora of effects. They still carry the sheen that divided fans with The Understanding, but these songs point to the more introspective and ambient quality that could possibly arrive on Senior later this year.
Which is really the question that’s on my mind. By now, Röyksopp have clearly proven themselves to be a tour de force in production, beat making, and as musicians as a whole. But at what point does this sound become trite and overused? The real problem with this record is that everything, after repeated listens, begins to sound vaguely familiar. It could point to the cohesive character that the album spews but, if Röyksopp are going to top themselves again, they are going to have to stop relying on the slick techno sound that coats this record. This is the issue that has plagued techno music as a whole. The genre lacks the ability to move beyond a set of sounds or beats and tends to confine itself to a niche. Let’s face it, if you listen to techno on a regular basis its possibly because the sound is so comfortable. Röyksopp can potentially suffer from the same problem and we’ll have to wait until later this year to see if they can buck the trend.
But for now - let’s just keep on dancing especially when it sounds this good.
High Point
Great guest vocal performances matched with insanely catchy beats make for a fun and entertaining album.
Low Point
It’s a sound thats been perfected by the band so the question is - what else is there?
Posted by Danny Lopez on Mar 31, 2009 @ 6:00 am